The Real Price of Friendship
by The Moof
Summary: Skywarp will do anything to save the life of his best friend Thundercracker, even brake some taboos along the way.


Notes: Okay, this story wasn't suppose to exist. This was part of a note for another story, but this came about instead when this plot bunny hopped out and hopped on my head till I gave in.

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers, Skywarp, Dirge, Thundercracker, Megatron, Starscream or Hook; they are owned by Hasbro. Quarterflash and Nighthunter are owned by me.

It was going to be a long night for Thundercracker and even a longer night for Skywarp. Thundercracker was the lucky one in this case; Skywarp saved him from a really nasty death. To Skywarp did the only logical thing he could think of, or at least what was logical to him, and that was to save his best friend and wing mate. Nothing could compel him to do otherwise.

He was sitting next to Thundercracker and looking at his best friend sleep away his remaining injuries away. Skywarp sat watching till he felt a hand touch his right shoulder. Turning around, Skywarp saw Dirge. With a more grim expression on his face than usual, Dirge then mournfully said, "We need to talk 'warp. Now." Sighing deeply, Skywarp said, "Fine."

Getting up from his seat and looking at Hook who was taking care of Thundercracker, Skywarp then asked the Constructicon, "Please. Take good care of Thundercracker for me." Hook looked a Skywarp and Dirge and said to the worried Seeker, "I'll do my best." That's when Hook saw Dirge and Skywarp leave the medical bay.

As they walked down the hall, nether Seeker said one word, not until they reached their destination; and that was Dirge's quarters. "Get in, now!" Dirge said in a barely audible whisper as the door opened. Walking in the room, Skywarp saw what Dirge thought of interior decorating. It was a lot cleaner than his, with the exception of a few cobwebs on the corners connecting to the ceilings. Random piles of datapads on various tables, a few alien skulls, vials of indescribable substances, crystals of various colors, besides a few weird looking knick-knacks that Skywarp couldn't really identify. As well as a huge library of books; ranging from psychology to religion and from horror to tomes of forbidden magical practices.

Seeing Skywarp looking around in awe of his room and what was in it, Dirge proceeded to lock the door behind him. Then walking up to his console at his desk, he turned of all ingoing and outgoing communications off and maximized the room's sound dampeners so if anyone walked by Dirge's room, then they wouldn't hear a sound coming from the room. When Dirge was done, he saw Skywarp sitting cross-legged on his recharge bed. Leaning on the table across from his bed, he stared at the younger Seeker. The staring and the silence between the two of them felt like it took forever till Dirge started his tirade on Skywarp.

"What in the slag did you think you where doing!" snapped Dirge, "Do you even think at all!"

"Look! I did what I had to do to save my friend!" Skywarp snapped back.

"I can understand that, and hell…" yelled Dirge, "I for one can accept that; but the others…"

The Skywarp interrupted him, "What about the others? Huh? What do I fucking care what the others think!"

"Apparently you don't! And nether will the others!" By now Dirge was fuming, "Primus be damned, Skywarp, you're a marked mech!"

Skywarp sighed heavily. He knew he was in trouble. Big time; but he always seemed to get out of such jams. "Maybe if I explain…"

"Explain what? 'Oh, I'm so sorry. I won't do it ever again.' What you did is one of the most unforgivable offences one of our kind can do!"

"So! What do I care! Thundercracker was dieing and it was either save him or let him rot!" stormed Skywarp, "I chose to save him!"

"I know; but you also know that saving a non-clan member from other clan is one thing. But this…" Dirge's voice was less shaky than usual. It was a clear sign that he was trying to control his temper which was rising faster than Skywarp care to find out.

"Taboo, Dirge." Skywarp started to give Dirge a snarky attitude, "Ooo, I'm shaking my wings off!"

"Taboo? Taboo! God damn it Skywarp it is fucking blasphemy what you did!" snapped Dirge again, "You and I are on shaky soil to begin with and now you pull this shit!"

"So why are you making it a lot bigger deal than it already is. I'm the one in trouble, not you! So tell me!" Skywarp snapped back.

Dirge stop leaning against the table and walked up to the younger Seeker till he was nose to nose to Skywarp. He stared at the black jet for what seemed an awful long time for Skywarp.

Then in a cold, dark authoritative tone Dirge said, "Let's get one damn thing clear kid! You're next in line as our clan's leader; after your creator dies you will be in charge and then, only then, you can change the rules. But till that happens you have to obey the rules of the clan and those of the grand counsel of all clans! Just because I'm not responsible for the shit you do, doesn't mean I'm not responsible for you! I am! And let no other member of our clan tell you otherwise! Your dear creator, who also happens to be our clan leader Nighthunter, ordered me to protect your sorry ass till he dies, and when he does go to the Pit to meet the Fallen, that's when I become your second-in-command! That's when, and only when, I start following you!"

Skywarp then stared back at the older conehead Seeker and quietly asked him with a holier than thou attitude, "Till then, what?"

Quietly growling back at Skywarp, Dirge replied, "Till then, you follow my orders when it comes to clan affairs! I am your elder, youngling, so you better show some respect! You should also watch your fucking tailfins because when the other members of our clan get wind of you feeding Thundercracker your own energon from your own internal systems, then there is only one thing the clan will do. The clan will decree to send one mech and only one mech to deal with us!"

That's when Skywarp start giving an inquisitive look at Dirge and asked, "Who?"

Then Dirge said the one name that really made Skywarp think of the consequences of his actions of saving Thundercracker. "Quarterflash."

Skywarp's optics started to widen and he finally started to feeling scared. Then he quietly started crying, "Oh, oh Primus, no. No! Not her! Anyone but her!"

"Yes, Quarterflash. Once Megatron and Starscream see her sulking around headquarters for us they will get more than a little pit suspicious. Oh, and lets not forget that she'll hunt Thundercracker down too.

"Thundercracker?" Skywarp said in a worrying tone.

"Yes, Thundercracker." Said Dirge as he started to pace back and forth in fount of Skywarp. "Whether or not he develops the urge or at worse the first systems of a full hunger upon his reawakening!"

That's when Skywarp thought of his best friend who was sleeping in the recharge bed in the medical bay. "How… how long does a reawakening last? When does will it start?"

Walking back to the table, with his back toward the younger Seeker, Dirge then said, "I'm not really sure. It depends on who is experiencing a reawakening and who is the one responsible for siring them. But one thing is for sure; once Thundercracker is turned there is no way in hell that anyone or anything can get him normal again. And if, only if, you, Thundercracker and I are spared the wrath of the assassin Quarterflash, then there is a really good chance that Megatron will have all three of us either exiled or destroyed. Take your pick."

Hearing a light snicker coming from Skywarp, Dirge turned around. "Then there's Starscream." Said Skywarp with a small smile.

"Hah!" said Dirge who was starting to laugh a bit at that thought of Starscream finding out the truth. "If we know Starscream, he'll take it hard one way or another." That's when Dirge walked up to Skywarp, putting his hands on the young Seeker's shoulders and looked at him.

Then Skywarp quietly said, "That half of the Seekers he commands are vampires."

Dirge then sighed and said, "Yah, vampires. Look, whatever happens kid; we'll go through this together and help Thundercracker through this every fucking step of the way." Then letting Skywarp go, Dirge reset the sound buffers and the communications back to normal. While Skywarp hopped of Dirge's recharge bed and waited for Dirge at the door.

Smiling at each other, Dirge unlocked the door and both him and Skywarp walked back to the med bay to checkup on Thundercracker.


End file.
